We encounter God in an intimate relationship through daily prayer, the sacraments and the Scriptures.
“I am not afraid, for God is with me. I was born to do this”.
St. Joan of Arc
I graduated from Mississippi State in December 2024 and now serve at Auburn University! WAR EAGLE!!
The Lord clearly pursued me my whole life, starting with my childhood. I was raised Catholic by my mom and always knew that God belonged at the center of my life. However, after COVID-19 I began struggling with daily depression and anxiety. This feeling was scary and confusing, and did not go away for 2 and a half years, no matter how much I prayed for God to take it from me. When I got to college I had convinced myself that God could no longer love me anymore because I struggled with these things, and was no longer the fun, care-free Rylee that everyone knew me as. I searched for relief from my anxiety in alcohol, unhealthy friendships, and the party culture. Praise God I met a missionary my freshman year who invited me into bible study and a deeper faith in Jesus Christ.
One of the things she also invited me to was the annual FOCUS conference called SEEK in 2023 in St. Louis, MO. There I attended a talk called ‘Suffering with Grace’ that radically changed the way I viewed my suffering, and showed me that the Lord was actually drawing me closer to Him and His Cross. The next day of the conference I experienced God’s miraculous healing in prayer, where I felt both emotionally and physically healed of my anxiety that I had been experiencing for almost 3 years. I also felt God’s overwhelming pity and compassion toward me in my darkest times, and his radical call to follow His will. For the first time I was not scared of suffering any more, I only wanted to be closer to Christ, whatever that meant for me.
After this encounter, my entire view of God was changed and I knew Him as a compassionate Father who suffered with us. My intimacy with God only continued to grow after this conference, and in returning to Mississippi State. I started leading others in their faith through bible studies and group discipleship meetings. Around the same time it was very clear that there was a tug on my heart to be a FOCUS missionary. I wanted to teach other women what I had learned, and how to live their faith in college. Praise God I am now able to do so every day as a missionary! My only goal for my life now is to do the will of God, and lead others to Him.
When I answered the call to join FOCUS, I made the decision to rely on the spiritual and financial support of mission partners to aid me on mission. Though not everyone is called to leave their homes to serve people in foreign lands, we are all called to be on mission in some way! It is through the generosity of faithful Mission Partners that this mission is possible.
If you are interested in partnering with me, please let me know the best way to reach you and I will schedule an appointment with you. It would be an honor to share in this mission with you!
469-502-1866
We encounter God in an intimate relationship through daily prayer, the sacraments and the Scriptures.
By building genuine friendships, we meet students on a deeper level.
We teach students how to share the gospel, who in turn teach other students how to pass it on.